I was looking for something that could bridge a few occasions. I have had just about every version of IWC's 5001 and while each one looked fantastic, they never felt right. The thin bezel and thick case ultimately turned me off.

Saw the post on the Public forum the other day on the 5001 vs. the Observer and decided to check it out. Lo and behold the Observer won me over. While similar it is also different. The case is definitely thinner and despite its 44mm size vs the 5001's 42mm size I felt it actually wore smaller and felt much more balanced on my wrist (less of a tuna can). The big date was icing on the cake. I will do a more detailed review but for now here is a quick I-Phone shot